Smoking is not just a nasty, unhealthy habit for smokers. The
secondhand smoke generated by smokers has devastating effects for the
rest of the population. In an examination of more than 200 studies on
the effects of environmental tobacco smoke, researchers estimated the
current cost of secondhand smoke in the US to be nearly $10 billion
annually. This number includes direct expenses related to the treatment
of disease (heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer,
asthma and other sicknesses) as well as indirect costs such as lost
wages, reduced services and disability costs.